Of course autistic children should not be disrupting and holding back 'normal' kids in classrooms.

The shock/horror outrage comes only because it was Hanson who said it.

Australian kids are pushing it up hill already, thanks to the Left wing teachers' unions and progressive ratbags.

If there is some spare money for research, it should go to finding out why there is this huge surge in child disabilities, and what part the parents have played in it. It beggars belief that these modern diseases have suddenly cropped up without faulty living being behind them.

The assumption that they'll be holding everyone else back is part of the problem.

And the main trigger for autism is thought to be CH3CH2COOH which comes from dietary and microbiological sources.

As the grandmother of two autistic children I totally agree with Ms Hanson.
Given the level of outrage her comments have produced, I decided to ask my young adult grandson with Aspergers, whom I have raised.
When asked if he would have preferred to have been in a special class for autistic kids as opposed to mainstream his answer was " hell yeah".
He is a high IQ, delightful young man who despite traumatic failure at school has found a niche in the work place, has a part time job and co workers who are slowly socialising him. The wet tshirt competition at the local pub was an instant winner!
I was directed to the Sunrise FB page and was astounded by the number of comments from parents of autistic kids who also agreed with her.
Naturally organisations like the Teachers Union and Autism Associations are going to protest loudly because she didn't include any fluffy bunny, cuddly kitten comments in her speech but parents and health workers with experience in this area are well aware she speaks the truth

As a parent of a very gifted high-functioning autistic girl, I mostly agree with Big Nana.

Aidan was on to something, too, when he said:

“The assumption that they'll be holding everyone else back is part of the problem.” (http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=7824#241616)

The problem with Hanson’s claims was that she assumed that it was the autistic children holding the other kids back, when the research suggests that the only children being held back in underfunded classrooms are the autistic children.

Including Pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorders in Mainstream Schools (http://goo.gl/2Fg4XW)

http://scholar.google.com.au/scholar?hl=en&q=autistic+children+in+mainstream+schools

<<If there is some spare money for research, it should go to finding out why there is this huge surge in child disabilities, and what part the parents have played in it.>>

There appears to be no surge at all, ttbn. We just understand these “disabilities” better now, and don’t write these children off as “retarded” or “devil children” like we did back in the good ol’ days.

How bloody typical.

Hanson states a simple fact, that no one in their right mind can argue against, & the entire left, including the media are after her scalp.

It does look as if the average citizen is sick to death of this noisy minority. Every time they attack Hanson, they drive a few more people to see that she is usually right.